Chapter 40 Appendix II Chinese Journalists in the Gulf

Sun Wei, deputy editor-in-chief of Beijing Youth Daily During the Gulf War, Tang Shizeng, a photojournalist from Xinhua News Agency who was already well-known in the Chinese press, suddenly became a news figure.During the two months from the end of December last year to the ceasefire of the war, he sent back more than 100 faxed photos from the war zone, and more than 50 of them were published. The major newspapers in the country have photos taken by him almost every day. Go, especially the photo of UN Secretary-General de Cuellar at Baghdad Airport, the expressions of the characters and the angle of photography are absolutely perfect!It is said that all 12 newspapers in Hong Kong adopted this photo at that time.

Taking pictures in Baghdad is too difficult in special times.It is illegal to carry a camera on the street without the guidance of an Iraqi press officer.Soldiers, police, and even ordinary people can confiscate your camera and expose the film.Tang Shizeng sewed the five-star red flag on the camera vest, and wrote "China Xinhua News Agency" in Chinese, English, and Arabic on the front and back.He deliberately learned an Arabic sentence: "Sinishabishadik!" It means: "A good friend of the Chinese journalist!" He said it to everyone and laughed when he finished speaking.This trick is really clever.People see that he is very kind, so they don't want to be "serious" with him.Taking the opportunity, he grabbed a lot of precious shots.

On the night of January 12, Tang Shizeng received an order from Beijing: try to take photos of UN Secretary-General de Cuellar in Baghdad.However, it is not easy to find this secretary-general! On the 13th, he and reporter Zhu from the Baghdad branch of the Xinhua News Agency traveled all day, and they did not catch up to the VIP building at Saddam International Airport until 8:00 p.m. More than 200 journalists from various countries gathered in the hall, all waiting for the Secretary-General to appear. De Cuellar finally arrived at the airport surrounded by officials.For a while, the reporters huddled together, cameras and tripods collided with each other, and shouts rang out.In this case, aluminum ladders and tripods can't support them at all.Tang Shizeng snatched a chair that he had already picked up, and stepped on it.Originally, he was about 1.8 meters tall, and when he stood on the chair, the angle was so favorable that the American reporter raised his feet and asked, "How is it?" He proudly said, "Absolutely!"

De Cuellar entered a special small hall. The reporters were blocked outside the iron railing at the door. Master Tang squeezed in the front row. He showed a well-behaved appearance and smiled at the guards from time to time.Therefore, the guards concentrated their energy on a few Western journalists.Taking advantage of their inattention, Tang Shizeng suddenly raised his leg and stepped over the railing, catching up to de Cuellar and his party in two or three steps.He heard the scolding of the guards behind him and the sound of chasing footsteps, but without turning his head, he walked in close to the officials, and finally caught the best opportunity to shoot.Afterwards, foreign colleagues asked him: "Aren't you afraid of them shooting?" Tang Shizeng happily replied: "No, I'm so close to Aziz!"

After the war, Tang Shizeng left Baghdad with the last group of reporters, and then flew to Cyprus via Amman, where he applied for a visa to enter Israel. At this time, all flights to Israel were grounded.But Tang Shizeng didn't want to wait for a minute, because news might break out in Israel every minute.He ventured aboard a small private jet. On February 1st, it was raining, and the propeller plane was bumping in the wind and rain. It was dark under the windows, and only the raindrops falling rapidly on the windows could be seen.Suddenly, the plane sank suddenly, and Tang Shizeng's heart sank, and he couldn't help holding "Nikon" tightly in his arms.

After more than an hour of trials, I finally arrived in Tel Aviv.In the office of the Ministry of Information of the Israeli government, an official stared at the five-star red flag on his chest in amazement and said with emotion: "This is the first time I see someone from Beijing. How long do you plan to stay? I will get you a certificate right away!" During the 14 days in Tel Aviv, the air raid siren was caught up every day. As soon as the siren sounded, the staff drove all the guests into the anti-virus shelter on the sixth floor.Tang Shizeng did not enter the bunker once, but picked up the guy and ran out as soon as he heard the alarm.Sometimes on the street, sometimes on the balcony looking up at the sky, waiting for the "attack". At around 2 o'clock in the morning on February 9, the alarm sounded again. Tang Shizeng climbed onto the balcony to wait as usual, but this time the "Scud" really came. A fire dragon pierced the night sky, followed by two loud noises, and the floor trembled.After Tang shizeng took this precious shot, he immediately rushed downstairs to the explosion point.There, houses collapsed and gas and water pipes burst.The people who came to rescue were in a mess, and Tang Shizeng immediately raised his camera.But an Israeli soldier stepped forward to block his camera.Now he was in a hurry, he couldn't laugh anymore, and cursed...

On the phone, Tang Shizeng said to the reporter who interviewed him: "I will never embarrass the Chinese people. I will work hard for Xinhua News Agency!" Director Xu Youzhu of the photography department of Xinhua News Agency is very satisfied with her soldier.She added in a somewhat smug tone: "In addition to the spirit of desperation, there is another point that is particularly important. Both Zhang Xun and Tang Shizeng are 'all-weather reporters'. They can speak foreign languages, take photos, write texts, and Driving. For this, Xinhua News Agency paid a lot of money. But without these conditions, the success of their reporting in the Gulf would not have been possible.”

(This article was originally published in Beijing Youth Daily on March 8, 1991)